Blowing the alarm on racial discrimination ended my career - Burrell

Important note: This piece contains descriptions of racially offensive comments and conduct

Ex-England player Luther Burrell states that going public to reveal racial discrimination in professional rugby led his career to an premature end.

In a 2022 interview, Burrell characterized racism as being "rife" in the game, showing Whatsapp messages and recalling training ground "comments" he had been exposed to while representing Newcastle.

Then 34 and without a team, Burrell's only elite playing since has been a handful of games with invitational side the Barbarians.

"I've have definitely had to end my career because of what occurred," he explained to reporters.

"I really hoped to continue competing, of course I did. I pursued that, and it fell through when news emerged that there were investigations underway.

"That was difficult - I had to just accept the fate and understand that this whole process is a lot bigger than me."

A rugby governing body investigation in April 2023 found Burrell's allegations were accurate "on the balance of probability", but stated it could not collect enough proof to definitively say they occurred at Newcastle.

Burrell told media he also faced discrimination within the England set-up, during a international career that saw him earn 15 caps after his debut in February 2014.

"I've had multiple traumatic experiences within the national team," he said.

"Certain instances of discrimination and other just outdated thinking that's really unacceptable."

Racism had become normalised in team environments, in Burrell's experience.

"This is something that has been dressed up as humour and that's been the problem that I've personally suffered and witnessed," said Burrell, who is of Jamaican descent.

"During a period of time you just learn to believe that it's the standard and that is acceptable and that it's not harmful, but that's nonsense."

Burrell explains he was finally motivated to go public after a fellow player at Newcastle called him as a "slave" and told him to put sun cream on his arms and legs "where your shackles were."

The rugby authority said Burrell's revelations had led to "a deeper look at the environment within the professional level and to the implementation of an strategy for the professional game."

"The organization has given considerable focus on diversity and diversity in the sport and a substantial amount of work undertaken both before and after Luther Burrell spoke publicly and revealed his encounters of racism and class discrimination," it continued.

"We are ongoing work with teams and stakeholders in the elite level to strive for a environment of inclusivity but recognize this requires patience and is an ongoing process."

All Premiership and PWR club now has face-to-face education on creating welcoming cultures, with its effectiveness tracked via individual reports and surveys.

All England players, including age-grade squads, are educated in being "active bystanders" to intervene and defend others from harmful behaviour.

"You should be so proud of what you have accomplished," Burrell's mother Joyce said to him as part of the documentary Luther Burrell - Rugby, Racism and Redemption.

"We know it has had this impact on you and ended your career, but in our view, you have achieved so much. We are so impressed of you and to have you as a son."

Burrell's dad Geoff passed away soon after the filming of the documentary, and his sister passed away recently.

Burrell, who grew up on a council estate in his hometown, continues his work to make the game more accessible.

His 12 Foundation works to reach young people in under-served communities and support them thrive on and off the pitch with free sports training, mentoring and dietary education.

"My personal intentions are genuine, I want to see the evolution of the game and if nobody else is prepared to share their story then I'll persist to fight that cause because I'm not just doing this for my own benefit," he explained.

"Everyone involved have an obligation to make the sport as excellent as it can be and the longer I talk about it perhaps the more confident fellow players will become about discussing their own experiences as well.

"I need to grab the challenge by the horns and keep carrying this flag and continue supporting this responsibility and accomplish what I can to develop possibilities and make the game more attractive and more welcoming.

"There's a lot of underprivileged young people and a lot of poverty and I honestly think that the sport has the potential to transform their futures, just as it transformed things for me."